


Two Birthdays

by fangs_for_the_memories



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Birthday, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-20
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-03-08 09:03:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3203549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangs_for_the_memories/pseuds/fangs_for_the_memories
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura struggles to find the perfect birthday present for Carmilla, but after successfully surprising her, the reaction is less than ideal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Best Laid Schemes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura enlists the help of her friends when she finds out when Carmilla's birthday is, for present and stalling ideas. Carmilla's surprise is a success, but her reaction isn't exactly what Laura was hoping for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy it!

It was mid-May when Laura received a text from Lafontaine, saying that J.P. finally found out when Carmilla’s birthday was. This launched the tiny girl into a massive panic as she tried to come up with the perfect birthday present for her girlfriend, considering the birthday was less than a month away.

“How about having the Art Students Society whip up one of their famous detailed oil paintings of the two of you?” Perry suggested, but Laura vetoed it, knowing full well that Carmilla disliked them too much. The group had pulled a prank last year where they spray-painted their initials across the student art gallery on campus.  (There were also rumors about the subjects’ souls being captured in the painting process.)

Kirsch recommended a bathing suit made of leather, accompanied with a suggestive wink.

Danny slapped Kirsch’s shoulder and then suggested, “Matching bear spray?”

Lafontaine proposed a bunch of cat toy items.

Laura smiled at her friends and thanked them for their suggestions, but she knew that Carmilla hadn’t celebrated her birthday in a long time, and that this one had to be special.

 

Laura tried her best to ask Carmilla indirectly, attempting not to tip her off.  When she was met with absolutely nothing to work off, she tried re-watching her earlier vlogs, hoping for some inspiration.

It was a week before Carmilla’s birthday when Laura finally came up with the perfect idea.

 

 

Laura enlisted her friends to help keep Carmilla out of their room on her birthday.

“Maybe we can lie and say that the room has been reported for bed bugs,” Perry proposed.

Kirsch suggested inviting Carmilla to a game of ice hockey –– but to watch as a cheerleader, not to play.

Danny smacked him and then suggested making up some threat for her to join the Summer Society in hunting.

Lafontaine recommended locking her in a laboratory to run some tests.

Laura took Danny up on her offer.

 

 

On Carmilla’s birthday, Laura went out to class and returned to find that Carmilla was not in the room.  Danny had already visited the night before, asking the vampire for help in tracking down “some beast that’s been prowling around campus –– either a wendigo, a werewolf, or maybe a really large, skinny, lanky corgi, we’re not sure.”

Lafontaine, Perry, and Kirsch volunteered to help set up for the party, but Laura politely declined.  She wanted to do all of it herself.

_Even if I am too tiny to hang up these lights…_

 

Carmilla walked in later that evening, grumbling as she entered the room.  “How hard could it be to find a goddamn wolf?  Or an enlarged dog, whatever it is.”  She stopped short at the vision in front of her.

Laura sat in her computer chair, facing her, with two champagne flutes and one bottle of ridiculously expensive champagne to accompany them.  Laura, for her own part, absolutely glowed in a white strapless dress, illuminated by warm lights she had strung up around the room.  She grinned at the speechless Carmilla and stood up.

She had an entire speech meticulously planned out, but all that was thrown to the wind when her mouth opened.

“Happy Birthday.  Uh, J.P. told me–– well he told Laf when he found out–– not that I was looking to find out, but I just brought it up one day, uhm, conversationally, like if he could find out when you were born and stuff, and a few weeks ago he texted Laf and they told me it was today, and I couldn’t think of anything to get you–– I tried really hard to, but I couldn’t, so I re-watched some of my videos and then I realized I was terrible and interrupted our first date with the kidnapping –– and yeah, we’ve had plenty of dates since then, but I just thought it’d be nice for us to… try this thing again?”

She looked at Carmilla expectantly.

 

Her girlfriend smiled at Laura, but there was sadness in her eyes.

“Carm?”  Laura fretted.

Carmilla remained silent, her eyes taking in the small human in front of her, a vision of beauty and love.

Laura furrowed her eyebrows and scrunched up her face, taking a few steps closer to the birthday girl.  “Did Danny and the girls really tire you out, or something? I’m sorry, but I really couldn’t think of any other way to get you out of the room and stall you…”

A tear rolled down Carmilla’s cheek, but she continued to stand there in the doorway, not talking.

Laura looked around the room, frowning. “W-Was this not okay? Do you not like surprises? M-M-Maybe I should’ve asked?”

She reached out to touch Carmilla on the shoulder gently, but Carmilla pulled away.

 

“I-I’m sorry,” Carmilla finally stammered, backing out of the room, and averting her eyes before promptly running down the hall.

Laura stood in the empty room, blinking confusedly at the doorway.  _Well, that didn’t go well._


	2. It Led Me To You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura finds out the reason behind Carmilla's reaction.

It didn’t take long for Laura to gather herself, puzzle out that Carmilla was probably on the roof of the dorm building, and then go up there.

She slowly opened the door leading outside, waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, and then identified the dark figure that was her vampire huddled on the edge.

“Carm?” she called gently.  “Can I–– Is it okay with you if I join you?”

“The roof is big enough for the two of us, cupcake,” Carmilla replied quietly.  Laura didn’t miss the sniffle that followed.

Laura hesitantly walked out and sat with her girlfriend at the edge.  They sat in silence for a bit, staring out onto the campus.  It was colder than Laura anticipated, and she couldn’t help but shiver.  
“You should go back inside,” Carmilla said.

“I’m fine,” Laura insisted.  Carmilla sighed and took off the coat she had on and draped it over Laura, who was still in her dress.  “Thanks.”

Carmilla nodded, looking at Laura, but turning her head away when Laura went to look back at her.

“I’m not sitting here so you’ll talk to me,” Laura explained quickly.  “I just don’t think you should be alone right now, is all.”  She looked at Carmilla for a few seconds more, before turning away again. Laura knew that Carmilla had been used to not having to talk to and explain everything to someone for the past 334 –– or, rather, 33 _5_ –– years. She didn’t expect the vampire to suddenly change and start spilling stuff to Laura just because they had been together for a few months.

 

Maybe she didn’t grab a coat, but Laura didn’t run up to the roof _completely_ half cocked. She had brought a backpack up with her. She unzipped it and brought out a bottle and held it out to Carmilla, who quirked an eyebrow.

“Oh, please, like I’d put champagne in here,” Laura scoffed, following with a giggle.  “I figured you’d be hungry after today’s hunt for a nonexistent creature. It’s blood.”

Carmilla gave Laura a warm smile before accepting the bottle and taking a gulp.

“You’re amazing, creampuff,” she said, grabbing Laura’s hand, and the smaller girl visibly relaxed.  She looked back into Laura’s eyes.  “And I want to let you know that…” she took a deep, wavering breath.  “I am so, so touched, and I really appreciate what you did.  Me being upset has nothing to do with you.”

Laura leaned her head on Carmilla’s shoulder and Carmilla nuzzled her face into Laura’s hair.  “Ew, Carm,” Laura whimpered.  “You’re getting blood in my hair and I _just_ washed it!”

Carmilla laughed and purposely buried her face deeper, earning a playful smack from Laura, who then returned to her position on Carmilla’s shoulder.

 

The two sat in silence for a few minutes. The campus clock tower eventually struck midnight.

Carmilla took another swig of blood from the bottle. “It’s my birthday,” she whispered, almost inaudible, and Laura wasn’t sure at first if she had heart anything at all.

“Actually, that was the clock chiming midnight,” Laura pointed out, giving Carmilla a small peck on her cheek. “Your birthday just ended.”

“Not my human birthday,” Carmilla replied softly. “Today is the three hundred and seventeenth anniversary of when I was turned into a vampire.”

Laura gasped and removed her head so she could stare at her girlfriend.  “Wait, you were murdered on the _day after your birthday_?”

Carmilla gave a wry chuckle.  “How did the little USBoy Wonder manage to dig up my birthdate, but not when Mircalla Karnstein died?”

Laura sat there, her eyes welling up with tears. “He sent Laf that, too! And they forwarded me the information, but I was so busy looking for the birthday that I ignored the rest of it and––” She hugged Carmilla in a strong embrace, catching her off-guard.

“Wow, your one track mind never ceases to surprise me,” Carmilla commented, as Laura squeezed her tighter. “Neither does your strength.”

 

“Is that why…?”  Laura stopped hugging her so she could look the vampire in the eyes. Carmilla wiped a tear from Laura’s cheek.

“Yes, buttercup.  The party I died at was for my birthday–– my human birthday. Ever since, Mother insisted we celebrate my vampiric birthday instead.”  She shook her head.  “I had forgotten that the human one was the day before,” she admitted ruefully. “And then I walked into our room and for the first time in a long time, I remembered.”

Laura placed a hand gently on Carmilla’s leg. “Carm, I am so, so sorry,” she said gently.

Carmilla placed a light kiss on Laura’s lips. “Hon, you don’t have to apologize.”

“But––”

“‘But,’ nothing.  I originally started celebrating my birth as a vampire because Mother wouldn’t let me celebrate my human one.  But then after the first century, I found I was doing it because, well, I figured there was no one left to mourn me, so I might as well, right?” She scoffed.  “It became less of a celebration and more me moping around on rooftops because it felt like there was nothing _to_ celebrate.”

She sighed, trying to find the strength to say the next part.  The warm look in Laura’s eyes was all the help she needed.

 

“Laura,” she said, “this is the first time I’ve felt like there was a reason to celebrate my life.  This is the first time in a long time I haven’t felt a need to mourn my own existence.  This is the first time I’ve realized that becoming a vampire was a blessing, that everything I’ve been through had a purpose, and do you know why?”  Laura shook her head.  “Because it led me to you.  The stuff with Mother, Elle, and everything else that made my world so, so dark –– it brought you into my life.”

Carmilla pulled Laura into a small hug. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Laura hugged her back.  “I love you, Carm,” she said quietly, but strongly. “You’re so strong and I love you.”

“I love you, too, Laura.”

 

Carmilla let Laura go and went to stand up, pulling Laura up with her.  She twirled the tiny girl around.  “I also love this dress on you,” she said with a wink, laughing as Laura blushed. “I would hate for it and for what you’ve done with the room to go to waste.”

Laura giggled as they made their way back to the room.

“Oh!” she exclaimed when they reached their door. “I almost forgot. I had planned a small thing with our friends tomorrow for your birthday, but I can cancel it if you want?”

Carmilla considered for a moment before shaking her head. “But only if you wear this dress again,” she said, grinning.

Laura obliged, and the next day her friends walked in, singing “Happy Birthday” to Carmilla while they carried in a cake Perry baked, lit with candles.  Carmilla smiled when she saw that Laura had insisted that they not use her actual age on the cake, but rather candles that read, “???”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
